Best Mosquito Repellents and Killers for Home and Garden

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The best mosquito repellent for most people is a skin repellent containing DEET, or icaridin if you would rather avoid DEET. Those are the active ingredients that government travel-health guidance puts first, and nothing sold as a gadget comes close to them. Indoors, the strongest set-up is simple: screens on the windows, a knockdown spray for any mosquito that slips in, and a plug-in vaporiser in the bedroom on warm nights. Outside, the most effective step costs nothing at all: get rid of standing water so mosquitoes can’t breed in the first place.

What doesn’t earn its place? Ultrasonic buzzers, phone apps, garlic and vitamin B tablets. And the popular UV bug zapper, while useful for flies, catches surprisingly few mosquitoes. Below we explain why, and which product type suits each job. Our recommendations are based on product labels and published official guidance, not hands-on testing.

Quick Picks

Match the product to the problem. Most households need a skin repellent plus one or two items for the house.

Skin Repellents: DEET, Icaridin and Lemon Eucalyptus

A repellent on your skin is the only product here that stops the mosquito biting you personally, wherever you are. Biting female mosquitoes home in on the carbon dioxide we breathe out and then on body odour, so the job of a repellent is to make you a confusing, unattractive target at close range.

DEET

Government malaria-prevention guidance for travellers recommends a 50% DEET product as the first choice. It also notes that protection doesn’t last any longer above 50%, so stronger isn’t better. DEET is described as suitable for anyone over two months old unless they’re allergic, and the same guidance says 50% DEET is considered safe in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. For a midge-and-mosquito evening in the garden, many people use a lower strength; the trade-off is a shorter protection time, which the label will state.

Two practical points. Reapply after swimming or heavy sweating, because sweat shortens how long it lasts. And if you need sun cream too, put the sunscreen on first and the repellent second. DEET can reduce how well sunscreen works, which is why the guidance suggests a higher factor, SPF 30 to 50.

Icaridin (picaridin)

If DEET doesn’t suit you, the official advice is to use the strongest icaridin product you can find, typically 20%. It is a sensible pick for anyone who simply prefers not to use DEET. Check the label for the age it is approved from and how often to reapply.

Lemon eucalyptus (citriodora)

Refined lemon eucalyptus oil, listed on packs as citriodora or PMD, is the plant-derived ingredient the guidance names as an alternative to DEET, again at the highest strength available. Note that the guidance names the processed oil (described as hydrated and cyclised), not the raw essential oil you might find in an aromatherapy shop, so buy a product sold and labelled as an insect repellent.

Keeping Mosquitoes Out of the House

Indoors, think in layers. First stop them getting in, then deal quickly with the ones that do, then protect the room where you sleep.

Screens and nets

Fine-mesh fly screens for windows and doors let you keep windows open on warm evenings without inviting mosquitoes in. Where you’re sleeping somewhere without screens, or outdoors, the travel guidance recommends a bed net, checked for rips and tucked in under the mattress.

Knockdown sprays

The same guidance suggests spraying the bedroom with a knockdown insecticide before dusk to kill any mosquitoes that came in during the day. Our shop’s Raid Plant-Based Wasp and Mosquito Killer Spray is a 300ml indoor aerosol whose label covers flies, mosquitoes, wasps and moths. It is a tool for the odd insect you can see, not a substitute for screens (see it on Amazon). Ventilate the room afterwards as the can directs.

Plug-in vaporisers

A plug-in heated liquid device containing insecticide is the guidance’s suggestion for overnight protection where you have mains power. Choose one approved for domestic use and read the label for room size and ventilation advice.

Cutting Mosquito Numbers in the Garden

There are more than 30 native mosquito species in the British Isles, according to the government’s health security agency. Some only bite birds and many live in places like salt-marsh or wet woodland, but several breed happily in garden water and some of those bite people. Removing that water is the single best way to reduce nuisance bites at home.

• Water butts: a common breeding site. Fit a tight lid; a water butt mesh cover is cheap insurance.
• Gutters and drains: keep them clear so water drains away rather than pooling.
• Buckets, tarps, tyres and wheelbarrows: store or tip them so rain runs off.
• Paddling pools and bird baths: drain and refill every few days so larvae can’t develop.
• Ponds: leave a healthy, established pond alone. It attracts predators that help keep mosquito numbers down.

Do Bug Zappers Kill Mosquitoes?

Not many. Mosquitoes find people by scent and breath, not by UV light, so a lamp is a poor lure for them. A ten-week University of Delaware study of suburban zappers, summarised by a Californian mosquito control district, found that mosquitoes made up less than 0.25% of more than 13,000 insects killed. Most of the rest were beetles, moths and other harmless insects.

That doesn’t make zappers useless. For houseflies and moths in a kitchen, garage or conservatory they do a decent job, which is why we cover them in our best electric fly killers guide. If that’s the problem you’re solving, the 18W Electric Bug Zapper (view on Amazon) or the dusk-to-dawn GeckoMan Hybrid Spectrum Fly Zapper (view on Amazon) are sensible options from our range. Just don’t rely on either as your mosquito defence; pair it with a skin repellent.

What Doesn’t Work

A lot of money goes on mosquito products that official guidance specifically rejects:

• Ultrasonic buzzers: the travel guidance calls electronic buzzers completely ineffective as mosquito repellents. We look at the wider claims in do ultrasonic pest repellers actually work?
• Phone apps: apps that claim to keep mosquitoes away are strongly discouraged.
• Garlic and vitamin B: there is no evidence that eating garlic or taking vitamin B1 or B12 stops bites.
• Citronella: it does have some repellent effect, but it isn’t among the recommended options and doesn’t match DEET or icaridin.

The common mistake behind all of these is choosing convenience over contact. A repellent works because it is on your skin, right where the mosquito lands.

When to Call a Professional

For most homes, mosquitoes are a seasonal nuisance that the steps above handle. Call a qualified pest controller if you have persistent biting indoors with no obvious source, a breeding site you can’t safely reach or drain, such as a blocked flat roof or a neglected tank, or you run a business where insects are a hygiene or customer issue. A professional can find where larvae are developing and treat it with products not sold to the public.

If you spot an unusual striped mosquito, or you’re being bitten heavily during the day, it is worth reporting. The health security agency runs a mosquito surveillance scheme and accepts records and samples from the public. And see a GP or pharmacist about any bite that becomes very swollen, painful or infected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: Government malaria prevention guidelines for travellers: bite prevention; Health Security Agency: Controlling mosquitoes in your garden; San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District: are bug zappers effective against mosquitoes?.